Friday, 26 June 2015
Hardy Plant Society Study Weekend, Portland 2015
We were up and in the hotel restaurant by 8:30 AM, ever so early for two night owls. I had a look at Facebook on my phone and almost burst into tears of joy. I could hardly speak to tell Allan what I saw without flapping my hands to hold back the tears.
What a day: To begin with something so wonderful that in my 20s through 40s I never thought I would see in my lifetime, followed by garden touring, and visits to both Xera and Cistus nurseries, and closing with a lecture by Dan Hinkley.
We took our non freeway route out of Portland, heading back west down the same quiet industrial streets we had entered by last night. Other than waiting for a long train to pass, we made good time and got to our destination only half an hour after the first garden opened.
We arrived at our first garden, one that we had visited on the Garden Conservancy tour in 2009.
Hardy Plant Society Study Weekend: Soule-Horn garden
from the program: This is the home of George Soule and Joy Creek Nursery co-owner Maurice Horn, who will explore the evolution of this large rural island garden during his lecture on Saturday. This country garden is located in what was once an oak savannah. It has many borrowed views of distant mountains, oaks, hills, and a seasonal lake. A formal knot garden near the house transitions to less formal garden rooms, terraces, and perennials borders, which transition to mown paths through open fields. The original design was by Wallace Huntington. Subsequent design and plant selections have been done by Sean Hogan and Maurice Horn.
The temperature was in the mid 90s, and the light glaring for photography.
By the field in which we parked, a neighboring farmer rents a space for beehives.
Maurice and George had kindly arranged to have flocks of butterflies throughout the garden.
The heat had addled my brain so that I did not take a photo of the elegant stairway. Here is a photo from 2009, when the stairway garden was just being planted.
If we had entered the other way, we would have first come to patio terraces by the house.
We walked back toward the stairs we’d entered by, and passed the scree garden next to the knot garden.
Maurice had recently turned part of the slope past the scree garden into a rockery. As the owner of Joy Creek Nursery, he has a ready supply of the coolest plants.
I found my way down via the lawn rather than the stairs.
What I learned the next day in a lecture by Maurice Horn:
The original garden design called for a belvedere. (I had to google that.)
The windows go from knee height to over (most) human’s heights.
The house is all windows except for a central bathroom.
The garden has Buddhist iconography because George is a Buddhist.
The bolsters of shrubs are earth, the yellow and red flowers are fire, Hebe ‘Quicksilver’ is water.
Clematis integrifolia and viorn2 resist the root nibbling the moles that eat other clematis roots.
The window views remind him of Japanese woodblock prints that were in his childhood home.
Next: a wetland restoration garden
This was the last garden I saw that day, and the heat had wiped me out completely. Thanks for showing so much that I missed.
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Wow (that rhodo). John and I swooned. Not sure of the ID. Loved seeing the design drawing. Thanks!
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That is an enormous garden!!!! Do they do all their own gardening. They must have help. Amazing!!!!!
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I have the feeling that they do it all. Later in the weekend, Maurice gave a wonderful talk about moving into that garden (where George already lived), and I do get the impression that they enjoy gardening together. I might guess that they have help mowing, or maybe occasionally bring in a helper from Joy Creek Nursery, but I am just guessing.
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Wow!!! And to think I can’t manage my reasonably sized garden. Makes me feel ashamed and lazy. My the plants and shrubs in my garden are so overgrown, I keep expecting a large wild animal to emerge from the undergrowth at anytime. Please tell me they are at least retired, so I cans top feeling like such a gardening slacker!!!!
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They both work, and in fact during his lecture, Maurice said that their work schedules conflict so they cherish the times they can garden together!! But…let’s imagine they have a staff, because it will make us feel better, and maybe they do. My garden is a mess, and I have loads of ladies in waiting again!! and it is so hot today (all of 77 here!) that I am inside blogging instead of weeding.
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Yes, I am imagining they have a huge staff. Because of my feelings of being an inadequate gardener, after reading your post and seeing the photos, I dashed outside in the 100 degree weather and almost gave myself heatstroke trying to tidy up some of my beds. Looks much nicer. So thank-you for that kind kick in the butt!!!!! Tee-hee. Could you post more picture next week-end so I will be motivated to weed again, please?
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I forced myself out for four hot, muggy hours even though I wanted to stay in blogging. Dug up some boring daylilies so I will have room for my new ladies in waiting.
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Four hours!!! That’s dedication. Had thought about going out yesterday to do some more weeding, but couldn’t bring myself to go out into the suffocating heat. Convinced myself the weeds can wait until next weekend.
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They’ll still be there ;-). Gardens are not made to be worked in during miserable heat.
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That’s true. Thanks!!! Makes me feel better!!!!
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My goodness, what kind of dog was that–did you find out? (Imagine that, the cat lady asking about a dog…)
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Corgi mix of some kind? I don’t know, but exceptionally adorable.
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